


Gaia

by StrangePeaches



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Apocalypse, Eventual Romance, F/M, Original Universe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 23:03:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19474030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangePeaches/pseuds/StrangePeaches
Summary: Gaia was the world's salvation until it became its downfall. Now Olympus is the only thing standing in the way of humanity's spiral into extinction, but will the Chevaliers and their Warriors succeed? Or will it truly be the end of the world?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to an original piece of work I started waaaaay back in 2015 lmao. I kind of liked it so I'm going to leave this up here and see about concluding the story. Chances are these first two chapters will need a rework (yay old writing) but, here we go!

Gaia.

At first, it was hailed as a newly found resource; the cure-all. Its properties were like none ever seen before, mutating at rapid speeds and _adapting_ to the environment in which it was placed. Liquid, metal, gas. It was the world's salvation.

Until it became its downfall.

Two decades after it was found, it brutalized the Earth. In its raw form, it burst forth from the ground taking the shape of savage-like claws, decimating anything in its path and killing off anything living on the surface. Whole cities were torn down by their foundations, leaving abandoned wastelands in their stead.

Humanity attempted to rebuild, forming new cities and homes for all who survived the disaster, but shortly afterwards they came to learn that was only stage one. A year later, stage two began. Monsters followed in the wake of devastation and crawled from the depths below, named after Typhon of Greek legend who was also birthed by the Goddess who gave Gaia its name. They devoured all who stood in their way, resisting and adapting to any means used against them. Walled cities were built to house and defend the decreasing human population, but that wasn't going to be enough.

With funding from what little Government was left, Olympus was created - a syndicate dedicated to the protection and safety of what was left of humanity, and the eradication of the Typhon. Using the advances in technology and genetics, along with whatever means possible, Chevaliers and their Warriors were born.


	2. Chevaliers

Calloused hands trailed over soft skin, tracing smooth curves and dips as though they'd been a long time lost to the exploring fingers. Her breath hitched, fingertips clawing over the sheets when a lust-laden breath sounded by her ear. She heard the chuckle, as she always did, turning her face the same way and finding herself once again pinned in place and stopped. Always the same.

The weight shifted above her, inquisitive hands making a new path down along her arms, resulting in her wrists pinned above her head while lips left their mark along her neck. It wasn't restrictive - it never was - just a show of control.

"Why?" _Why can't I see you?_

"You don't need to," was the same response she always got. It caused frustration to coil in her stomach more than it ever unnerved her, provoked renewed struggling which seemingly only amused her captor. Her leg slid up along their thigh, hips writhing and pushing up in an effort to push them away. The more she tried to contort herself into a position where she might even just catch a glimpse of them the better they got at preventing her, anticipating her moves and countering with something that sent ever more deliciously pleasurable shivers down her spine.

"Devi."

The weight above her stilled and she thought she had the upper hand, slipping one hand free to push deliberately at their hip in an effort to push them off to the side.

"Devi."

It didn't occur to her that the voice calling her name was different from the voice that had teased her earlier. Not until her captor used the full length of their frame to crush her down against the mattress, pulling a scarlet blush to her cheeks before they pressed their forehead partially to her temple and spoke.

"You're not the first and you won't be the last. Devi, listen to me, _don't_ go today. Drop out," Their voice was soft but the desperation was still as clear as day. "Don't go through with it. The only future for Chevaliers is death."

"Devi!"

Hazel eyes went wide as Devi was shocked awake, sitting up on the single bed assigned to her and zoning in on the voice that had pulled her from the dream. Baruch. The blonde stood at a tall six feet and was built with more muscle than most of the other twenty-somethings in their training group. A giant, if there ever was one. He peered at her quizzically through pale green eyes, a touch of annoyance furrowing his brow.

"You said a cat nap, Dev." He lifted a hand to rub the short-cropped hair at the back of his head, his gaze sweeping over her tiny allocated sleeping area. The sheets were a tangled mess and her shock of being woken had sent her half tumbling off the bed to the floor - she daren't even think about how she looked while she was dreaming.

"Tests are in ten. You'd better hurry up." He turned to leave then and she rushed to offer her thanks, a vivid pink hue staining her cheeks as she clambered off the bed to straighten herself out.

_Don't go through with it_.

The words echoed in her head as she composed herself, a cool chill running down the back of her neck as though they haunted her. That, needless to say, had never happened in those particular dreams before. Perhaps it was her nerves or the heavy weight that had begun to rest upon her shoulders the closer the tests got. Becoming a Chevalier was no easy feat - if you even made it through the genetics stage of testing which wasn't exactly a common achievement - and the fate of humanity was essentially relying on them.

She looked at the tiny scar on her inner forearm - a circle composed of seven smaller dots where the needles broke the skin - and smoothed her fingertips over it thoughtfully. She'd been one of only four who'd been eligible for further training, having survived the introduction of Gaia into her bloodstream and adapted with the resource in order to be able to wield it. Gaia changed them. They were stronger, faster, and healed better than before. But the biggest difference was the summoning - that was what made a Chevalier.

The first Chevalier to summon using Gaia brought forth a creature from unknown origins though they were humanoid in appearance, unlike the Typhon which looked like mutated animals. They had skills which made them more of a weapon against the Typhon, whether it was swordsmanship or archery, or even their species offering them the use of tooth and claw. Some came with their own magicks, often seen as some kind of demonic species but no less effective in the ongoing war. They were just as adaptive as the enemy could be which made them - and those who could summon them - indispensable assets.

It wasn't long before the truth of what they were was revealed; devoured souls of the Typhon from long ago, their energy having been absorbed into the Gaia and brought forth once more by the summoning. Many revelled in the opportunity to work with their Chevalier and rid the world of the menace once and for all. Others didn't relish their resurrection so much.

The thought of bringing back a fallen soul pushed Devi out of her thoughts and she rushed to shrug her jacket on, pulling up long locks of brown hair into a bun afterwards. The last thing she needed was to let her mentors down with her tardiness.

_The only future for Chevaliers is death._

With a new sense of resolve, she headed out of the sleeping quarters and towards the testing rooms. She wasn't going to give up now.

The doors loomed up ahead of her and, outside, sat the other three Chevalier hopefuls. Baruch, and beside him a slimmer cut figure who went by the name of Hannes. He was a good few inches shorter but no less imposing if only for his brooding nature. Dishevelled black hair sat atop his head while critical blue eyes watched as Devi approached. If she was going to be honest with herself, she'd never taken any particular fondness to the man but tolerated his company if only for Baruch's sake, since he'd seemed to find something to actually like about him. Lastly, there was Tex. The youngest of all four at only a meagre twenty years old, he was also the least memorable - sandy blonde hair and pale brown eyes didn't leave anyone with a very lasting visual impression of him. But his intellect? It wasn't a secret that he was a tactical genius, even without any field experience.

"They won't tolerate you running late if you make the cut."

Hannes had spoken in the same moment she settled into her seat, causing Devi to pause and her hackles to rise. She still had a few minutes before they started calling their names. Not even sparing him a glance, she shrugged.

"Not like it'll matter to you when you _don't_." The retort was cold and sharp enough to get under his skin. She knew deep down that wishing someone the worst in the tests was wrong, especially when Olympus needed all the Chevaliers they could get, but she'd never been able to bite her tongue.

"Arrogant bit-"

"Hannes." Baruch's deep voice cut through the insult that was about to be thrown, his heavy hand laying upon the other man's arm in a silent plea to let it go. Devi knew it had little to do with gender - men and women were all equals in that regard when it came to Chevaliers - so a glance to the man in question told her everything she needed to know. His gaze on her was stern like a father might look at a child who'd just been scolded and he expected an apology.

"Sorry. The tests have everyone stressed, alright?" She offered, receiving little but a scoff from Hannes and a shake of the head from Baruch.

"'bout as close to a genuine apology as you'll get from her, Hannes. Best take it while it's on the table." Tex chimed in, the smirk on his face so visible in his tone that she didn't even need to look at him to see it. Her hackles rose again.

"Alright, what is this? Target-"

"Devi Rybar?"

All attention shifted towards the large metal doors in front of them where a woman stood with her datapad in hand. She looked at Devi expectantly, wordlessly prompting her to stand and nod her acknowledgement. Despite knowing every step of the testing process like the back of their hand, nothing prepared them for their moment of truth.

"Follow the instructions and do your best." she offered, pressing a hand between her shoulders as she ushered her into the room and closed the door behind her, barely giving her time to compose herself again.

The room itself was almost clinical if not for the raw dirt floor, walled with sterile white tile on all but one side. That side housed what looked to be a mirror - clearly, two-sided - and beside it sat a wide TV-like screen while the whole room was flooded with bright white lights.

"For the records, state your name and your Gaia sample."

The voice almost sounded booming, coming from somewhere above her even though she knew logically she was being watched from behind the mirror. Standing slightly taller, she nodded.

"Devi Rybar, Theta-type."

"Commence testing. Arm out, palm down," Instinctively she lifted her right arm. "Now envision the symbol you see onscreen on the ground beneath your palm. Imagine energy flowing out from the symbol, coursing through every line and detail. Imagine pulling that energy up towards your palm like a magnet. Focus."

The screen flickered on and showed something akin to an alchemic circle, only the lines were rough and it was filled with hybridized, alien-looking symbols reminiscent of the Typhons in nature. Animalistic and savage. Even simply envisioning the image sent a chill down her spine, an unnatural feeling unfurling in her stomach as she swallowed hard. The silence in the room was suffocating as she tried to focus.

In her mind's eye, she saw the symbol on the ground, imagined a bright phosphorescent green flooding through the design like water searching out a natural path. The weight of the air around her felt heavier almost and she shifted slightly on her feet to negate the discomfort. She had to do this. She had to be able to summon a Warrior or all of it would be for nought. They'd all be right about her and she'd never be able to-

Thin wisps of the same green colour began to form above the circle, turning and twisting like writhing serpents. She blinked in some vain attempt to test whether or not it was real, and it was. It was no more a vision than her three comrades were sat outside the room. She watched as it built upon itself, expanding and moulding into as of yet unknown shapes until, in split seconds, it contorted and snapped itself into a thin vertical line and disappeared. Leaving behind a figure in its wake.

She took in the view of a broad back, wide shoulders, and closely cropped dark hair. The masculine creature stood before her was impressive - it was the only word for it. Awe kept her stood still, barely even breathing until she heard what sounded like a growl emanating from them.

"I told you," Slowly they began to turn towards her, their head angling and allowing her a glimpse of deep, forest green eyes. Time ran equally slowly, drowning out the voice from above congratulating her while her mind started to connect the dots as to why it suddenly felt too familiar. "I _warned_ you about this, Devi."

"How do you know..." She trailed off when they finally faced her completely, taking in their strong jaw and straight nose. His eyes, which seemed to burn right into her.

The voice.

"I am Faelan of Aldlyn." Despite his seeming annoyance towards her, the curve of his lips quirked upwards into a smirk, offering her a rather blatant once over.

"Now you see me."


End file.
